A configuration in which an FA system is caused to have a data transfer device to collect control data related to the FA system such as device data of a programmable controller (hereinafter, simply referred to as “PLC”) using the data transfer device has been often adopted (see, for example, Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2). The data transfer device transfers collected control data to a high-order device such as a host computer. Users can use the control data transferred to the high-order device for applications such as confirming operating conditions of the FA system and monitoring errors.